A caucus of agriculture county executives wants some of the new coffee reforms that were implemented in the previous government to be reversed.
The team led by Kiplimo arap Lagat of Nandi County said some of the reforms were rushed and did not capture the welfare of the farmers.
Speaking during a forum organised by Kenya Coffee Planters (KCP), which brought together county executive committees from 33 regions that grow the produce, Dr Lagat said there was a need to relook at some of the reforms and align them to the needs of the farmers.
For instance, he said the Sh3 billion cherry fund was rushed and no proper structures were put in place to ensure that farmers access the funds with ease.
“Accessing the cherry funds is not easy at all; farmers end up spending more money to get it. We need to make the modalities of accessing these funds easy for farmers and that is why there is a need to have a look at how it is structured,” said Dr Lagat.
According to Kenya Planters Cooperative Union (KPCU) only Sh200 million had so far been distributed to coffee farmers out of the Sh3 billion as of January this year.
The county executives also want the reconstitution of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange board in order to address what it claims is price manipulation at the facility following a long streak of poor prices.
“There is a likelihood of price manipulation at the auction by different players, we cannot rule out that,” Dr Lagat said.
Chairperson of the KCP Karugu Macharia said all the stakeholders need to look at the reforms and reach a consensus on the way forward.
“KCP plays a bi-partisan role and on the reform issues we would like the national and county government and other stakeholders to look at what is in the best interest of all the parties,” said Mr Macharia.
Coffee prices at this week’s auction declined, reversing last week’s trend when the beverage gained for the first time in over a month.
Data from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange shows the price of the beverage declined to $182 from $188 in the previous sale.
